


Llllllet's Rapid Fire Fic!

by iamtheoneinthehole



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: 'Canon' Verse, Angel and Demon AU, Assassin!AU, Book Character AU, GTA AU, Hybrid AU, Mad King Ryan, kid!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 19:07:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 14,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1560878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheoneinthehole/pseuds/iamtheoneinthehole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small assortment of 'rapid fire fics' I posted over on my tumblr to celebrate 300 followers :)</p><p>Rapid Fire Fic 1: Pew Pew!!! Rapid fire! Jack being insecure 'cos he doesn't think he's as great as his boys</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Insecure

**Author's Note:**

> So, as explained in the description, this was part of a celebration over on tumblr for hitting 300 followers (which honestly still seems entirely surreal to me)- each ficlet is 3 paragraphs long and there's a range of pairings, verses and character perspectives so hopefully you'll all enjoy reading them! The next full length fic is currently in the works and should be posted soon I promise. But, for now, I hope you enjoy these ficlets to tide you over until then :)

It wasn’t that Jack didn’t think he was attractive. He’d had enough people tell him otherwise to have successfully shaken off any lingering insecurities that the bullies high school had given him. Not did he think he was particularly inadequate in general since he was damn good at his job, at video games (though not quite so good as  _some_  of the people he worked with in that respect) and, as he liked to think anyway, at being a pretty decent person in general.

So yeah, it wasn’t that Jack didn’t think he was attractive or decent but… that still didn’t mean he even began to compare to the beauty, inside and out, of his boys. Because everything he did seemed to pale or fade into blurs of comparative insignificance in their presence. Like staring into the sun and being blinded by its magnificence and Jack  _knew_  he’d never be able to even  _begin_  to compare with that, to compare with them. If there was such a thing as ‘perfect’ in this world, they fit the bill pretty goddamn convincingly.

And he supposed that was probably the reason he’d had kept his distance at first, when they’d teetered around on the brink of falling into a relationship, and the same reason he’d been so shocked when it’d come out that they wanted  _him_  as much as they wanted each other. The reason he’d sometimes find himself looking at pictures of them together and wanting to crop himself out because… Jack wasn’t an unattractive man but any normal human being looked out of place when surrounded by adonis’. The reason he still couldn’t quite believe how lucky he was when he got to go home to them every night… and to have them come home to him. And it never quite escaped his mind that he didn’t really deserve this, deserve  _them_  but… his boys had their own ways of quieting those insecurities when they got too bad and of making him realize they were  _his,_  not theirs. Because in their eyes, Jack had never been anything even  _remotely_  unworthy of their love.


	2. At The Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 2: R-R-R-R-RAPID FIRE ACTION!!! Demon/Angel AU, Michael centric, about either making his deal or the deal being fulfilled. >:3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in the Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell AU

Michael had never  _meant_  to resort to this, had never  _intended_  to seek out an advantage on the battlefield that wasn’t, by rights, his own. Because honestly? It felt like taking the easy option, the cheap victory, the fucking  _coward’s_ way out but… he’d been a desperate man, tasked with the duty of defending a rapidly dying out tribe. He’d had no goddamn choice. And he’d heard the rumors, of course he had, deals with dark spirits that brought about good fortune to your people, fended off your enemies, won your wars… and if the only price he’d have to pay for that was his already tainted soul then sign Michael the fuck up.

Because there was no doubt in his mind really that he’d already long since lost any chances of appealing to the spirits of the light, not when he’d killed so many and wounded so many more. The name ‘Mogar’ was a feared one amongst their enemies for a reason after all… But what had the redhead most convinced that his soul was already bound for darkness was the giddy rush he’d always get when he did it, the sadistic sort of kick he’d get out of having that kind of power over life and death… and nearly always choosing the later of the two options.

And so perhaps his soul had always been damned, long before he’d ever ventured into the wastelands and had come across the female redhead with the knowing smirk and a fire in her eyes that he’d only ever seen reflected back in his own. They’d talked for a little while, the demon spinning her usual spiel even though they both knew it was just for show, that Michael had long since decided on the only possible outcome of this meeting… The deal had been sealed, as all deals were; with a kiss. A kiss that’d felt like kissing death itself, a flavor that’d lingered on the warriors lips long after he’d left to rejoin his tribe, a slight hum in the air around him that reminded the ‘mighty Mogar’ that however powerful he now was, he was a dead man walking...


	3. A Man Of Many Hats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 3: hmmmmmmmmm hats. i give you the prompt of hats

Michael had learned pretty early on in life that the best way to avoid getting hurt was to put up barriers. As a kid he’d been far too trusting, too open, too fucking  _naive_ … And since kids were asshats about that stuff most of the time, it’d gotten him bullied and fucking  _littered_ with bruises until he’d learned to toughen up a little, to defend himself. Even after he’d figured out how to fight back though, the  _emotional_  abuse had still been pretty damn hard shut out, to ignore… Well, at least until he’d started to adopt personas around the bullies as an effective shield of sorts; a barrier between him and them.

As the years had passed, he’d found himself crafting multiple, detailed personas centering around rage, indifference, snark… His parents had claimed once that he’d become ‘a man of many hats’ and he guessed, in a way, it was a pretty fucking apt description of what he did. Because he changed and altered the physical, the appearance, to disguise or protect deeper emotions. He used his ‘hats’ to become someone else, act as a disguise, a buffer, someone that people could fucking hate or taunt as much as they damn well pleased without ever managing to really wound him because… well the person they were abusing wasn’t really  _him_. Those hats had kept him safe, sane even, throughout his latter years in school. And afterwards? When he’d wandered out into the bigger, wider and just as fucking harsh ‘real world’? Those ‘hats’ of his had become so instinctive, so comforting, that he hadn’t quite been willing to stop wearing them. Not yet.

In fact, it hadn’t been until he’d started working for Roosterteeth that he’d actually found people who could actually see past those, see through to the man Michael  _really_ was and actually fucking  _like_ what they saw there… And it’d taken a while for the redhead to adapt to that, let alone be fully comfortable with the idea of his true self being so fucking  _exposed_  like that… But then he’d found himself falling in love with these people, these men who were absolutely fucking insane and couldn’t be more goddamn perfect all at once. And for the first time in years, Michael had been willing to toss his many ‘hats’ aside entirely to let those men in.


	4. Do You Ever Wonder Why We're Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 4: Whispers Rapid Fire, Geoff catching someone(s) watching only the episodes of rvb with Grif in them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a fic for Team OG :)

Jack thought he’d actually been fairly sneaky about it. He was pretty sure, after all, that the lads were all convinced he was still working on that edit that he’d actually finished up hours ago now. Ryan might’ve noticed though, given the slight amused grin now turning up the corners of the man’s lips. He hadn’t said anything to confirm Jack’s suspicions though, and the man wasn’t the type of person who’d bring it to the other men’s attention anyway so… at least he knew he had nothing to worry about on that front. As for Geoff, he was off doing some last minute re-recording of a little of the dialogue for the new season of rvb that just hadn’t  _quite_ sat right with the machinima it was meant to be matched to. Point was, beyond the all knowing ‘Mad King’ sat to his left, Jack had been pretty sure he wouldn’t get caught.

And so he’d indulged himself a little, pulling the specific episodes of RvB that he’d more or less memorized by this point. Episodes that just so happened to feature a certain solider in orange armor… It was a guilt pleasure of his that no one really knew about, certainly not Geoff, and sometimes he almost felt a little creepy for seeking out the man’s voice in episodes like this but… he couldn’t quite help it. Because there was just something entrancing in listening to the way Geoff worked, to how the man approached the role, the little hints of the actor himself creeping into the character’s dialogue in a way that Jack honestly felt had brought ‘Grif’ to life, in such a way that it’d made Jack fall in love with the character a little…

Which had naturally led to a revelation that he’d begun to fall for Geoff himself. Because it’d been those hints of Geoff within ‘Grif’ that he’d fallen for. And so, he guessed, in a strange way, he actually owed Red vs Blue and ’Grif’ for a good portion of the happiness he shared with his voice actor now… And he guessed Geoff must’ve realized, or perhaps even shared, that train of thought when he’d arrived back in the office earlier than expected, catching Jack in the act as a result. Because the man’s expression had softened into one of obvious, amused fondness, lips curling a little at the edges as a sudden rush of warmth had begun to dance within the man’s gaze. And moments later there’d been a soft press of lips to his forehead before Geoff settled in to watch the episodes with him.


	5. Back Off, They're Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 5: Bang bang bang Rapid Fire! Gavin being possessive of his boys.

It wasn’t that Gavin didn’t trust his boys, of  _course_ he did. Jack had all of these traditional, romantic, almost chivalrous ideals about love and Ray he knew, while having been subjected to cheating, had never even considered returning that ‘favor’. Ryan always got angry at the people who cheated in those crappy movies, the ones he pretended he didn’t secretly love to watch and Michael had literally told the last girl who’d gotten a little  _too_ grabby with him exactly where she could shove it… loudly and in  _explicit_  detail. And with Geoff, he just  _knew_ the man well enough to know that there wasn’t a bloody cheating bone in that man’s body. None of them would even  _dream_ about cheating so it wasn’t that Gavin didn’t trust  _them_ … it was other people that the Brit didn’t trust.

He saw the way they’d eye his boyfriends sometimes; hungry, flirty, predatory… They were attractive men after all. Inevitably, when they’d go out for drinks or meal, at least one of them would attract  _some_  kind of attention. Like last week as he’d watched a waitress take Geoff’s order, bending over a little more than was strictly bloody necessary to show off her cleavage… and even though Gavin had  _known for a fact_  that Geoff wasn’t interested, was actually more bloody uncomfortable than anything if the way he was taking pains to block his view of her with the menu now was anything to go by… it still wasn’t quite enough to stop him from shooting a sharp glare towards the woman, his arm sliding to rest in a casually possessively motion over the man’s shoulder as he’d silently warned her to bloody  _back off…_ To her credit, she’d pulled back pretty quickly after that and the playful ribbing from Geoff that he’d gotten later about that had been more than worth it for the man’s grateful smile, or the way he’d allowed the Brit to ‘lay claim’ to him once they’d gotten home that night.

_This_  though was definitely worse. Because the man who was pulling the moves on the boys right now, on  _his_ boys wasn’t some random stranger. It was that new bloody intern that Gavin, partly out of spite, hadn’t bothered to learn the name of, the one that had ample opportunity to hang around his boys, spewing off a list of subtle or not-so-bloody-subtle, as far as Gavin was concerned, innuendos and come ons that seemed to be flying completely over the top of his boyfriend’s heads… And it was bloody  _maddening._  Especially since the fact that this intern  _knew_ they were bloody taken hadn’t made him back off one little bit. If anything, it’d made him worse, as if he were all the more determined to steal his boys from him… And so he’d started to leave a litany of hickeys across their skin, subtle reminders of what was his, of what that bloody intern would never have. Because he could try all he bloody wanted, bat his eyelashes and make those bloody ridiculous innuendos and come ons but… at the end of the day they were  _Gavin’s_. He’d carved himself a place in their hearts a long time ago now and now that he had them? The Brit didn’t ever plan on letting go.


	6. The Villains At The Close Of This Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 6: RAPID FIIIIIIIIIIIRE: Monsters Reverse!AU with Gavin as the fictional character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's the AU that could've been (and might still be one day since I had a lot of fun writing it) with Gav as the fictional character and the hunters as the ones that want to rescue him :)

This last chronicle of the story Burnie had just told them was fucking  _bullshit._  Michael sat there silently fuming as he’d listen to the storyteller wrap up his tale, his diamond sword digging harshly into the ground below, chipping at the stone in a way he knew he’d probably get torn into for later by Jack and Geoff but right now he  _didn’t fucking care_. Because Michael was fucking  _pissed_ … And the slight angered tremor he caught in his King’s hands, the almost calculated sort of coldness that’d worked its way into Ryan’s eyes and heavy, uncharacteristic silence that’d suddenly fallen over the rest of the room was enough to clue the redhead in to the fact that he was far from fucking alone in that sentiment.

Because Gavin Free had been meant to have his ‘happy ending’, even in that weird, kind of fucked up, world of his. He’d been finally making plans to leave his profession to pursue something new, take a few more risks in life, try new things, spend more time with Dan… after endless tales of the man putting others before himself in that effortlessly selfless way of his, the way that’d had Michael utterly convinced that if he’d been really, he’d have made a fucking  _incredible_ Achievement Hunter… the man had finally  _finally_  been about to put himself first and to be killed off like  _that_ … Fucking bullshit.

And he couldn’t help but felt a rush of gratitude as Ryan had stepped up to inform the story teller of that, knowing his own complaints would be a lot less fucking diplomatic if he was asked  _his_ views on the subject right about now… What they hadn’t expected was for the storyteller to challenge Ryan to tell them the story  _he’d_  have written to wrap up Gavin’s tales. What they hadn’t expected was the sudden absence of a calm soothing breeze, the sudden onslaught of noise and whirring and big intimidating looking creatures that reminded Michael a little of the legendary ‘car’ that’d supposedly been responsible for taking the man’s life… What they hadn’t expected was a bewildered looking  _Gavin fucking Free_  asking them what they meant when they said his life was in danger and how the hell did they bloody know his name?


	7. Restless Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 7: Congratulations! I'm glad to be one of those followers. And for a rapid fire prompt : Ryan sleepwalking!

It’d been something that’d honestly terrified him as a kid. The way he’d had these ‘blank’ spots in his memory. Moments between lying down in bed and finding himself in front of the TV, in the kitchen and, on one particularly memorable occasion, in the garden, staring over the fence at the neighbors dog… and with no recollection whatsoever of how he’d actually wound up there in the first place. His parents had  _finally_  taken him in to get diagnosed after the dog incident, finding out he just so happened to be prone to sleep walking and that if he took the meds they’d prescribed him, the ‘incidents’ he was having would at the very least decrease in their frequency…

Except the medication they’d put him on, Prosom, had made his stomach churn to the point where he’d been plagued with near-constant and practically unbearable nausea. Eventually, he’d admitted defeat and gone off the meds, even in the knowledge that his sleep walking would likely resume, because it was still better than no sleep at all as he spent his nights crouched over a toilet bowl… He’d found ways to make the experience a little safer for him. Removing sharp objects, setting alarms to go off when he moved through certain doorways… it wasn’t ideal of course but it was still better than nothing… All the same though, the fear he’d felt as a kid, that fear of his body making subconscious movements that Ryan had no real way of controlling, had been one that he’d never really been able to shake, not until he’d moved in with his boys.

Because then he’d finally been able to  _finally_ stop worrying so much about the sleepwalking, stop worrying about the havoc his unconscious movements could cause, the potential damage to himself and to others… Because as much as they teased him whenever they’d had to guide him back from the shower, or the kitchen, or an attempted evening leisurely stroll, they were still there for him. They kept him safe, protected, loved and one of them always,  _always_ stayed awake just that little bit longer just to make sure there’d be someone to stop him if he wondered too far. One of them would always be there to gently ease him back towards their shared bed, with soft murmured words and gentle guiding touches, easing him back into the safe, comforting warmth of their arms. The one place Ryan could say honestly eased his restlessness because it felt like  _home._  


	8. They're Pretty Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 8: Rapid fire ahot6 prompt: Jack and Gavin wake up super hung over only to find little bows in Jack's beard, and all over Gavin's chest hair. The others are giggling to them selves and setting up the video ray took of the two drunkenly putting bows on each other.

Gavin’s head was bloody  _pounding_ as he’d stirred on one of the couches in his and Geoff’s apartment, silently musing on how much less bloody comfortable it was to wake up like this now that he’d grown accustomed to waking up in at least one of his boyfriend’s arms, the Brit having latched himself onto whoever happened to be nearest to him in a way that usually resulted in fond sleepy smiles and dozy yet merciless teasing… Drunk!Gavin liked his space though and had probably whined about it until his boys had relented and left him to the couch… yeah sometimes his sober self  _really_ wasn’t a fan of his drunken one.

The coffee Geoff wafted in front of him moments later was a bloody god send, the Brit downing it in seconds before he’d finally bothered to actually right himself on the couch… which’d been the exact moment when he’d noticed them with a surprised squawk that he’d regretted moments later as the sound had fully registered in his ears. And suddenly, as if they’d been holding it in until now as they’d waited for the Brit’s reaction, the room burst into hysterics, the only exception being Jack who was sat across from him, a bemused smile crossing his lips, even as the man had obviously winced at the volume of their boyfriends’ laughter…

Because the man’s beard and Gavin’s chest hair were both absolutely bloody  _covered_  in tiny pink bows and… eventually, after their boyfriends’ laughter had finally subsided a little, the pair of them had been shown a video Ray had taken of the pair of them littering each other with the little bows. He could hear himself make some sort of comment about the bows being pretty like Jack which was why he was decorating his beard with them and how he was gonna do the same thing to Geoff’s mustache afterwards… It was a shame really that he’d sort of slumped into Jack’s lap shortly after that because the Brit would’ve paid good money to see the results of  _that_. That ‘sacrifice’ was made worth it, however, for the expression that’d crossed Jack’s face moments later in the footage; a gentle and incredibly fond smile that spoke silent volumes of the man’s love for him, even as he wove more of those mysterious bloody pink bows into the Brit’s chest hair. And because of that, Gavin found he hadn’t really minded his boys’ teasing all that much, because it was all worth it to see Jack look at him like that, raw and unguarded and so obviously in love with him that it’d left the Brit running on a high, even in the midst of what had to be the worst bloody hangover he’d had in months.


	9. Sweet As Candy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 9: You deserve every follower you have and I'm really happy for you! Thank you for doing this prompt thing, you're great at it. For my rapid fire prompt: Ray baking for the boys (but only sweets because he can't cook anything else)

Ray had learned pretty early on in life that, most of the time, him and cooking  _really_ didn’t mix all that well. And he’d had a lifetime since of charcoal pizzas and inexplicably burnt rice since that only seemed to further support the theory… though he found he wasn’t  _quite_ so bad as Gavin who’d apparently, according to Geoff, once almost burned down their whole damn apartment in the process of making toast… even if the gent  _did_  have the slightest tendency to exaggerate his stories sometimes, the sheepish look that’d appeared on the Brit’s face had been enough to convince him that the story perhaps did hold just the  _slightest_  grain of truth there… So yeah, he it was probably safer for him to enter a kitchen than it was for his Brit to but that still didn’t mean he could necessarily  _cook._

For some reason though, and Ray had never quite figured out  _what_ that reason was, sweets seemed to be the exception to that. Maybe it was because he’d had a sweet tooth as a kid that he’d never really grown out of, maybe it was because of the fact that the responses he’d gotten from people who’d tried his creations there were always far more positive than anyone who’d dared to brave his other ‘creations’… whatever the reason was though, he’d always made the  _best_ vanilla fudge and his smores from scratch, with fresh marshmallow, were apparently to ‘die’ for (according to Tina anyway but he was pretty sure that might be exaggerated a little in the hopes of wheedling a few more of them out of her neighbor).

He’d had a lifetime of people telling him his sweets were great and yet… he’d still been nervous the first time he’d allowed his boys to taste them. Their relationship was still in that new, fresh and tentative stage that made him want every little thing to be goddamn perfect because he was already the happiest he could remember being in years when he was with these men and the  _last_ thing he wanted to do was to somehow mess things up. And so he’d wound up making countless sweet related puns as he’d watched them try it in an attempt to hide his nerves, to the point where his boys had all been jokingly groaning at how bad they were and Michael had actually resorted to shoving some of the fudge Ray had made into the Puerto Rican’s mouth, just to get him to  _stop_ … And it’d only been when Ryan had flashed him a smirk accompanied with the claim that it was very ‘sweet’ of Ray to have made this for them that he’d been absolutely certain they’d liked it, and momement later had found Gavin pleading with Ray to teach him to make some of these sweets at some point, a comment that’d made the rest of the men’s eyes widen almost comically in concern… And Ray hadn’t quite been able to resist agreeing to to try and the Brit after that, partly for the other men’s reactions, but mostly just because he was already pretty fucking whipped in this relationship and the face Gavin was pulling was just  _impossible_  to say no to. It was just too goddamn sweet.


	10. The YOLO Song Of Disney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 10: Rrrrraaaaappppiiiiiiddddd FIRE! Prompt: Ray ends up watching a Disney movie and can't stop singing the songs, reaulting in teasing from his boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I wrote this before Ice Cube went up, I kind of feel like I'm psychic now ;)

He hadn’t actually meant to watch the whole movie. He’d simply been flicking between channels, indulging himself with a rare lazy day, no video games or edits (that were probably long overdue by this point so… probably best he didn’t think about them right now really), as he’d sprawled out across the couch. He hadn’t meant for the battery to die in the remote just as he’d landed on a channel that just happened to be showing ‘Frozen’, but he’d been feeling too damn lazy to get up and switch the channel over and so, somehow, he’d wound up watching the whole movie.

And really, it wasn’t quite so bad as Geoff and Gavin were always making it out to be. Sure, it wasn’t Ray’s own  _personal_  favorite, the Lion King would always hold that pride of place for him, but he could kind of see the film’s appeal. The song’s weren’t half bad and he’d definitely appreciated the twist on ‘an act of true love’ given the fact that he’d been fully prepared, eye roll at the ready, to deal with the usual disney cliches which, while not necessarily  _bad_ , were kind of lacking in originality but… this one hadn’t been so bad on that front.

In fact, Ray’s only real issue with it hadn’t arisen until later on that day when he’d found himself humming ‘let it go’ under his breath and  _fuck_  suddenly the fact that those songs had been so damn catchy wasn’t such a great selling point for the film. Days later, and that  _same damn song_ was still stuck in his head, to the point that he’d actually had to look up the words because at least the song would be slightly irritating that the current melodic but unintelligible hum his mind was producing for him… and knowing the words had led to him breaking out into the song at random moments, a fact that he’d somehow managed to keep a secret from his boys until one day in the office when they’d been filming a Let’s Play and the song had inadvertently escaped his lips. And after some merciless ribbing, especially from Geoff and Gavin who’d really torn into him given which movie it was that the song actually belonged to, they’d somehow goaded him into singing the whole damn thing, complete with a pitchy high note that’d had his boys in hysterics… but hey, it kind of was the YOLO song of disney and hitting that god awful high note had been absolutely worth the shit storm it’d managed to stir up in the comments.


	11. Who Let The Dogs Out?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 11: Rapid fire! Hybrid!AU, all the canine hybrids(Miles, Lindsay, Caleb, maybe Dan or Kara) rolling around in the dirt like overgrown puppies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hybrid AU makes me really happy :)

Lindsay had been just about to take a break from editing to draw the stand-in ‘footage’ she’d decided to make for Ryan’s lost footage earlier when she’d caught the sound of rapid footsteps approaching her desk, looking up to spot a drenched, wide eyed and hyperactive Miles bounding towards her desk, his tail wagging in rapid motions as he’d told her about how Kara, Dan and Caleb were all playing in the mud outside and they should really go and join them because it looked like so much fun and surely Geoff wouldn’t mind if she took a quick break from that edit to come and play with them would he?

She’d broken almost embarrassingly easily, the canine side within her that’d been obediently sitting in place and behaving as her human counterpart had worked on the edit now causing her to jump up from her seat in a sudden rush of puppy-like enthusiasm, flashing a few obviously amused onlookers a grin before she’d chased Miles out of the office, the two of them rushing over to join the quite literal ‘dog pile’ that’d formed on the grassy banks to the side of the office.

And there they’d spent what must’ve been a good hour just rolling around in the mud, play tussling and laughing as they flung mud at each other. A part of Lindsay knew that her hair was thick and matted with mud at this point, though Kara’s really wasn’t faring much better, and that the shirt she was wearing was most likely an unsalvageable mess at this point… but at the same time, she couldn’t really bring herself to care about any of that. Because even working for all inclusive, all accepting place like Roosterteeth, it was a rare thing when she actually got the chance to let this canine side of her run free around the office like this. And it was, honestly, kind of weirdly _liberating…_  and that liberation had totally been worth the late night spent up editing that night to make up for lost time, her inner puppy wagging its tail happily as she finished off editing in Ryan’s drawings and forwarded it to Burnie’s server to post.


	12. A Purrfect Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 12: RAPID FIRE! Jottilo (Michael/Jack) Hybrid au were they just love to nap together and they groom each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Hybrid AU with added Jottilo! :) Also if you think this title's punny? Just you wait until you see the titles I have planned out for the rest of the 'Ruffled Feathers' series ;)

It was a pretty common sight on the slower days in the Achievement Hunter office to find the pair like this, curled up together in some corner of the room, away from prying eyes and the threat of Ray or Lindsay snapping a quick picture of them since, according to the redhead, they were too adorable together  _not_ to and… well, Ray just liked seeing twitter explode into chaos whenever he managed to upload one of those images before either man had even realized he’d even had it in the first place.

Neither of them really minded all that much though. After all, there was nothing to be ashamed of in liking a good nap together once in a while, legs tangled together as the faint rumble of Jack’s breathing managed to lull both of them into a relaxed sort of not-quite-sleep. More often than not, there’d be just the faintest hint of Michael’s own soft purr joining it as the cat hybrid would nuzzle a little closer to his boyfriend, burrowing himself into Jack’s warmth as they’d drift off side by side, any rapidly approaching deadlines, ragequits or important meetings temporarily forgotten as the immersed themselves simply in the warmth, comfort and love that seemed to radiate off the two of them whenever they were together like this.

And when they weren’t napping on those days? You could often finding one of them grooming the other, usually Jack with Michael, since the redhead was near constantly running around with Gavin and Ray as part of the ‘lads’ which tended to leave his fur a little ruffled to say the least and Jack had far more patience with the practice of grooming anyway. Because at the end of the day, Jack was a carer and as a result of that he took a certain amount of satisfaction and contentment from being able to take care of others, especially his cub whose contended happy purr was enough of a reward in itself that the lion hybrid rarely asked for Michael to return the favor. Because any kind of grooming paled in comparison to the sight of his boyfriend’s friends, happy and peaceful and contented, at the knowledge that he’d been, at least in part, responsible for putting that relaxed sort of bliss there.


	13. The Front Lines Of His Subconscious Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 13: R-R-R-RAPIDFIRE! Prompt: Geoff has a nightmare where he's back on the battlefield

It’d been years now since Geoff served on the front lines, years since he’d faced any kind of  _real_  conflict (because occasional paintball dates with his boyfriends really didn’t count, no matter how chaotic they got sometimes), years since his service had ended. He hadn’t held a gun in any genuine life-or-death scenario in what seemed like forever, hadn’t had to wonder if he’d actually live to make it to the end of his contract… And his conscious mind knew that, of course it did. He knew that he’d managed to make a life for himself away from the front lines. A life of video games, near constant dick jokes and the warm sort of safety he’d found in his boyfriend’s arms but… sometimes his subconscious managed to forget about that…

Like tonight as his mind had managed drifted its way into enemy territory, every damn muscle in Geoff’s body as tense as dicks as he and his ‘squadron’ had moved further behind enemy lines, eyes sharp and focused on a world he hadn’t realized was far too  _un_ focused to actually be considered reality… Because you never did notice the inaccuracies within a dream until you woke up, did you? And all the built up tension of the dream came to a head as some kid to his left got gunned down by the enemy, the air suddenly a whir of bullets as men were cut down all around him and…

"Geoff?" He’d snapped awake to find Ryan’s concerned eyes meeting his, their other boyfriends thankfully still curled up asleep in their bed so the older man knew he couldn’t have been making  _too_  much noise… Ryan had always been a light sleeper though, a result of pretty damn severe insomnia and his almost sixth sense for whenever Geoff had one of these nightmares. He hadn’t even needed to say anything before the other man was pulling him into his arms, Geoff latching onto Ryan as if he were a lifeline and, in a way Geoff guessed, he was one because he was the thing that was grounding him in the life he’d managed to build for himself since his time on the battlefield, not the nightmarish one he’d long since left behind.


	14. Pack Mentality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 14: Rapid fiiiirrrreeee! Ahot6 hybrid AU, but Geoff is an alpha wolf!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really REALLY love this alternate hybrid match up for Geoff :)

People often liked to tease Geoff about the way he seemed to collect people wherever he went, forming small units around him that could almost be viewed as makeshift families; the original Roosterteeth team, the Achievement Hunters, his boys… Sometimes those same people would even tease him that he was forming some sort of  _pack_ … and honestly? Those people weren’t exactly wrong in those assessments. The gent guessed it was some sort of latent wolf instinct of his, a need to be part of a group, to work together within that group as a unit and to have that ‘pack’ sort of mentality interwoven into the fabric of his own life.

It wasn’t as if he craved the hunt that actual wolves did, just the companionship and sometimes he wondered if, at least in part, his drive to enter a relationship with all five of his boys, instead of just the one, was also a part of that wolf mentality, that drive to have that group dynamic, just as much as it’d been about the fact that he’d been almost  _embarrassingly_ in love with those oblivious dumbasses, long before they’d even started dating.

And his boys all been surprisingly indulgent of his pack instincts when they’d started dating, recognizing his need for that companionship sometimes without Geoff even having to begin to articulate it. Plus, they seemed to understand, without the gent ever having to voice it, that if their relationship doubled as a pseudo pack, Geoff was the alpha wolf of that pack… Not that they’d ever give him complete authority over everything because of that and, honestly, Geoff wouldn’t have liked it all that much if they had because then they wouldn’t have really been the men that he’d fallen in love with. But on the stuff that mattered, the important decisions, they’d usually turn to Geoff for the deciding vote and that was more than enough to placate his alpha wolf instincts.


	15. Less Of A Spring In His Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 15: Rapid-Fire Prompt! The first use of the Serious Table! (You know who it is ;D)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'serious table' is something referenced in the 'Ruffled Feathers' verse where every time the boys have a serious conversation, it's always sat up to the kitchen table at their apartment (that they'd otherwise never actually use).

Ray had tried not to let it get to him. Tried not to let those niggling little doubts, that would twist and writhe in the back of his mind sometimes, actually take hold. Tried to convince himself that he was wrong to have them but… fact was, no matter what he did, he just couldn’t quite dislodge the thought that he just wasn’t quite good enough for his boys… He’d confided in Lindsay about it at one point, the canine hybrid having picked up on his less than stellar mood surrounding his boys and asking if something was wrong there, if one of them had said something dumb and she needed to kick their ass for it… Of course he’d had to explain to her then that it wasn’t his boys that were the problem, it was him, pointedly ignoring her attempts to make him view things otherwise because while it was sweet of her to try, she honestly couldn’t be  _more_  wrong…

And later on that day, he’d almost been convinced he had his proof of that when he’d arrived at Geoff’s, anticipating one of their casual date nights were the older man hosted them with cooked food and gaming tournaments, and instead finding his boyfriends’ all sat around the kitchen table that he’d never actually seen them use, a serious frown crossing Geoff’s features as he’d told Ray to take a seat and…  _oh god, they were breaking up with him weren’t they? They’d finally realized they were too good for him and this was their attempt to break the news to him gently…_

He may have deliberately dragged his feet on his way over to the table because of that, the bunny hybrid lacking the usual bounce in his step as he’d moved to take the empty seat and he knew it hadn’t gone unnoticed by any of the other men based on the look of concern now lingering in Jack’s gaze or the way Gavin almost looked as if he were tempted to reach out and rest a comforting hand on his shoulder… and a bitter part of Ray’s mind couldn’t help but wonder why any of them even cared if they were about to break up with him except… moments later when Geoff had spoken again, it hadn’t been the anticipated ‘its not you its us’ spiel but, “We need to talk about this thing you said to Lindsay about not being ‘good enough’ for us. Because honestly Ray, you couldn’t be  _more_ fucking wrong-” What’d then ensued was several hours of his boys, slowly but surely, easing some of the insecurities Ray had been carrying around with him since the moment they’d first started this relationship of theirs. And by the time they’d eventually left the table, there’d been a light smile on his lips… because while his insecurities over their relationship weren’t necessarily  _gone_  his boyfriends words had still made a significant dent in those doubts of his… it was a start.


	16. I Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 16: Rapid fire prompt! Something based off of "I Burn" from the RWBY ost. Maybe someone putting that as Barbra's ringtone? Someone getting in a fight in a club? Anything the song "I Burn" makes you think of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set within the 'Blood On My Name' verse :)

There was a reason Barbara (or ‘Yang’ as she was known within the agency) mostly worked solo assignments. For one, pretty much everyone in the agency, save perhaps ‘Mogar’, ‘Ruby’, ‘Blake’ and ‘Weiss’ genuinely seemed to be terrified of her… and honestly, she couldn’t exactly blame them for that. She’d heard the stories whispered about her in the corridors after all, talks about her contracts, about what she’d done and would readily do again if offered the right price…

Honestly, she kind of liked the fact that she could walk into a room and immediately make it fall silent if she wanted to, that she held that kind of power even with a profession such as hers where all of them were pretty formidable really. Because deep down she was still  _that kid_  with the five different gaming consoles and a tendency to make terrible puns around the people she actually trusted… which admittedly, these days, was a pretty small number but that just meant she was doubly punny around those that she did. She was still kind of a dork when push came to shove but… sometimes, when she was working, she became something else  _entirely._

And that was the main reason why Barbara usually worked alone. Because when she ran her ‘assignments’ a switch within her just… flipped and suddenly she was an open flame, destructive and deadly to any that got too close. And they did, they always did, because Barbara was exceptionally good at playing weak, vulnerable and defenseless around her targets, to the extent that they never saw her coming. She was ruthless, efficient, brutal and other people usually held her back, sometimes even got ‘scorched’ by her flames when they got caught in the crossfire. Fact was, Barbara Dunkelman was a girl on fire and she  _burned_.


	17. He Keeps Me Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 17: R-R-R-R-RAPIDFIRE! Prompt: Jack is safety.

There were lots of different things people could find their own personal safe haven in. For some it was a place, a childhood home or a landmark that happened to hold some sort of significant meaning for the individual. For some, it was a book or a show, a little hint of escapism for the days when things got a little too rough, a happy alternate reality where they could feel protected from the harsh realities of the real world. For some, an item of clothing that reminded them of someone, or perhaps just one that made them feel more confident when they wore it… For most of the Achievement Hunters though, it was a man; Jack Patillo.

There was just something in the way he was, the way he existed, that just seemed to radiate warmth, security, comfort. It was what’d initially drawn Geoff to the man. Because in a time where everything was taking risks and uncertainty as Roosterteeth had, slowly but surely, begun to establish a name for itself, Jack had been there as this solid, reassuring presence that’d grounded him and kept him fucking  _sane,_ with soft words and warm reassuring embraces. And it hadn’t just been Geoff he’d helped. He knew the man had also gone out of his way to help settle Ryan’s nerves when the man had first been hired on as their ‘behind the scenes’ guy for Achievement Hunter. Geoff himself had been aware at the time that the man was a little uncertain of how he’d fit into their dynamic, a little unsure of how to gauge or approach the situation, but it’d been Jack who’d managed to ease the man’s concerns, and had ultimately allowed Ryan to relax enough to truly find his place amidst the group that’d one day be known as ‘Team Gents’.

He was also the only one who’d really be able to calm Michael down after a particularly crappy day, to comfort Gavin after a particularly stressful run in or phone call with his folks (who apparently  _still_  weren’t even  _close_  to accepting his relationship with the five men he’d ‘chosen’ to love) and to encourage Ray to finally set down the controller whenever the younger man almost burned himself out as he got caught up in the quest to attain certain achievements… He always was the first person any of them would go to for advice or comfort, knowing they’d be met with nothing but warmth and understanding when they did, and Geoff honestly didn’t know what any of them would do without him. Because Jack was their anchor, their rock and Geoff honestly never felt safer than he did when he was in the man’s arms.


	18. Cuddle Pile!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 18: Rapid Fire!!!! OT6 after work cuddles!!! (Congrats on the followers! You deserve every one of them!)

It’d been one of those long days at the office that’d just seemed to drag on forever. Geoff had kept getting called out to record lines for the new season of Red vs Blue, Ryan’s server had kept crashing, Gavin and Michael were both still sore from the latest immersion they’d filmed and both Jack and Ray had, somehow, managed to fall ridiculously behind on their editing, to the point where it’d been a mad, panicked rush to get the footage cut together and sent off to Burnie in time. Somehow, they’d all managed to get through the day in one piece though, bundling into Geoff’s car with a certain degree of relief as they’d driven away from the office that day.

And when they’d finally got in, instead of worrying about cooking food or ordering in or… anything for that matter, they’d all just sort of collapsed into one of the couches. Ray had wound up in Jack’s lap, the older man wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist as he rested his head on the man’s shoulder. Next to them were Geoff and Michael, the redhead having burrowed his way into Geoff’s arms from pretty much the moment he’d sat down, his legs tangling casually with Ryan’s as the man had taken a seat to his right. And, naturally, Gavin had seen this and stubbornly sprawled himself across the lot of them, his head propped up against Ray’s knees and feet in Ryan’s lap as he’d settled into position with a satisfied grin curling his lips.

It’d been kind of nice just to sit there for a little while, basking in the peaceful quietness of the setting and the warmth radiating from their boyfriend’s bodies as they all just indulged themselves in a rare moment of quiet that very rarely occurred when you were in a relationship with five other men… and then Gavin had managed to topple off his sprawled out position across his boys and the moment had been broken as the rest of the men had fallen into hysterics at the Brit’s expense as Gavin had pouted up at them, claiming there were all ‘rubbish’ though the amused grin dancing within the Brit’s eyes gave him away. And the cuddle pile had dissolved pretty quickly after that as Geoff had moved to cook them some food, Jack offering his assistance there as the other men moved to set up one of the consoles for one of their own personal game nights… It’d been pretty great while it’d lasted though.


	19. Not So Safe For Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 19: Rapid Fire boi! Geoff uses naughty pictures of his boys as the wallpaper for his electronic devices.

Burnie had the expression of a man who’d seen  _things,_ things that no man should  _ever_  have to see, as he’d entered the ‘Thugs’ section of the Achievement Hunter office that day. Lindsay had assumed he’d wanted to talk to her about something given the way the man had sort of stumbled over to her desk in an almost haze, perhaps how the latest season of Red vs Blue was doing, fan reaction wise at least, so far but… he’d just stood there for a good few minutes in a horrified silence before finally murmuring something about ‘Geoff’s background’, ‘mental scarring’ and ‘like a son to me’ under his breath.

And Lindsay  _really_ hadn’t known what to make of that so she’d gotten up from her desk, wandering through to the main Achievement Hunter office, her eyes widening just a fraction as she’d seen exactly what it was that’d set Burnie off. It was… a collage of sorts she guessed, one picture of each of the men Geoff was dating which almost sounded sweet really when you took it out of context… but there was a good reason that Burnie had looked so haunted when he’d wondered into her office. Because each of the men was displayed in a way that was… well, not exactly ‘safe for work’. In fact, Lindsay was pretty sure the only reason Geoff had gotten away with the background this far was that the only people working in the main AH office were the ones featured in the pictures that ranged from racy to… stuff that Lindsay was pretty sure she’d never unsee.

On the upside, she could now confirm that the comment she’d made at pax east about Michael having hair on other parts of his body was in fact true, on the downside she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be meeting his or Ryan’s gazes in particular anytime in the near future… She’d forced herself to endure the images a little longer though as she’d sat down at Geoff’s desk, opening up a browser and searching until she found a sufficiently adorable picture of a cat to replace the man’s current backdrop. After that was done, she’d quickly scribbled Geoff a quick post-it note before returning to her own office to talk with Burnie about whatever it was he’d wanted her for. The note had simply read;  _I think you might’ve broken Burnie. Flipped your background over to something more family friendly in case any of the interns wind up in here. Thanks for the blackmail material by the way, I expect a raise to come out of that at some point ;)- Lindsay_


	20. Of Bets and Brits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 20: well done on 300 followers! and rapid fire: ahot6 ray in thigh highs please xx

It’d all come about because of some dumb bet he’d made with Gavin over who’d end up loosing their footage first in the new office. The Brit had just been bored one day, just a few short weeks before the move… And as it often happened when the man was bored, Gavin had started to look into making some sort of bet with someone. And usually it’d be Michael that would get targeted with those, since the redhead would try almost anything once but on that day he happened to be particularly busy with an edit for Ragequit, having made the point to his boyfriends earlier that he didn’t want to be disturbed as he worked. And, apparently, Gavin had respected that given the way he’d turned his bet-making attentions to Ray instead.

And, for whatever dumb reason, he’d thought the bet had sounded like a good idea at the time. It hadn’t been anything too significant they were betting after all, not money or finishing each other’s overdue editing… just the prospect of his boyfriend in thigh highs which’d honestly been  _far_ too appealing a mental image for Ray not to take the bet, even if doing so meant he was putting himself at the same risk of having to wear them because… well in betting on Ryan, he’d been pretty sure he had this in the bag. He hadn’t counted on Geoff losing the footage for their second AHWU they’d filmed, and perhaps he was just the slightest bit suspicious of  _how_ that’d come about given the Brit’s regular access, as Geoff’s flatmate, to said footage but… he’d let it slide because Ray really wasn’t a sore loser and  what the hell, YOLO right?

It’d been kind of embarrassing to go into work the next day in them though, even if no one except Gavin had actually _known_  exactly what it was he was wearing under his jeans. He could still  _feel_  the flimsy, smooth material rubbing against his legs with every step he took. Plus, he’d caught that knowing look from Barb earlier in the break room, the one that’d told him that Gavin hadn’t exactly been keeping the details of the bet they’d made a secret… And considering that he’d told  _Barb_  about it, Ray hadn’t exactly been surprised to find out that their other boyfriends knew about it too, or must’ve given the looks on their faces, the slight curls of their lips and the light teasing comments they’d made as he’d moved to take a seat at his desk… He’d gotten them back easily enough for that later though, when ‘Team Thugs’ had decided to go out for their lunch break, using the excuse of ‘dodgy aircon’ in the new office to slide off his jeans so that he was just sat there in his shirt, boxers and those goddamn thigh highs and… Needless to say the teasing had stopped pretty damn quick after that… Especially when the his boys had realized that, due to the fact that they were meant to be recording the next Minecraft Let’s Play right now, and that Burnie would have their balls in a vice if they were late on that deadline again, they couldn’t do a goddamned thing about the pretty hefty case of blue balls he must’ve been giving them right now as he sashayed over to grab his controller from the rack… But hey, if Ray had to suffer through the day of wearing these things, you could be damned sure he’d be making Gavin regret the fact that he’d cheated and Geoff that he’d most likely helped the Brit do so. The other boys were just collateral damage as far as he was concerned… he’d make it up to them later.


	21. 1, 2, 3, 4 I Declare A Playground War!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 21: Quick Write 'PEW PEW'!!!!!!! How about a kid!au where the lads and the gents have a playground war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kid!AU is another weakness of mine- writing this made me really happy :)

It’d been after Ryan and Geoff had gotten to the swing set first, the two gents laying claim to them as ‘theirs’ like the buttheads they were and refusing to let any of the lads have a turn because ‘finders keepers’. And while Jack had been nice enough to offer them the chance to use his swing, it hadn’t been enough to make up for what the other two gents were doing, not in Michael’s eyes. He’d called Gavin and Ray over to the lads ‘meeting point’ by the roundabout moments later, his expression strangely intense for the face of an seven year old, as he’d told them that they were officially declaring ‘war’ on the gents!

They’d quickly gathered supplies after that. Slingshots for Ray, since he had a surprisingly good aim for a kid his age, paints for Gavin, since he usually liked to take the messy approach when it came to their battles, and because it was fun to see Ryan complain when it inevitably got in his hair. As for Michael? He wielded that one large stick from the corner of the playground that they weren’t really meant to be playing with… Call it a stick though call it that and you’d be faced with the tantrum to end ALL tantrums because it wasn’t a stick! It was his sword and when he used it he became the mighty Mogar!

It’d been lunchtime when they’d launched their offensive, Ray shooting a few pebbles towards the swing set before they’d ‘charged’ into enemy lines, paint flying everywhere, pebbles still being fired by Ray, stick waving from side to side in a way that had both of his fellow lads giving Michael a pretty wide berth. And, for a moment, it’d seemed like they were unstoppable… until they’d realized the gents had been prepared for this attack. Geoff had ‘borrowed’ one of those huge metre rulers from the classroom and Ryan had apparently anticipated Gavin’s plan of attack this time, countering the lad’s paint with glitter of his own until they were both blotchy, sparkling messes and giggling like idiots. Jack meanwhile seemed to have chosen to be neutral about things, simply having set up a row of theirs and other kids’ bags, including the lads’ own, to block Ray’s tiny projectiles… and when Michael had been disarmed of his sword, he’d admitted defeat, acceding the victory to the gents. Which had been the exact moment that Geoff had finally offered to let Michael have a turn on the swing set, Ryan extending Gavin the same offer as Ray finally took up Jack on his. And suddenly it didn’t matter so much that they’d lost to the gents because they’d still sort of won… and maybe the gents were still kind of buttheads, but they were their buttheads so… Michael guessed that was sort of okay.


	22. Baby You're A Work Of Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 22: Congrats on your 300 followers~! <3 Rapid Fire prompt for you: Michael secretly likes to draw his boys. His boys find out. :3

It was only a secret really because Michael honestly didn’t think it was worth mentioning. His work really wasn’t that great, certainly not something worth making a fuss about… and besides, he knew the men who usually happened to be the subjects of it would be fucking mercilessly in their teasing if they ever found out about this particular hobby of his. Because sometimes, when work was quiet and his five boyfriends were off doing work, or getting Achievements, or were distracted in some way, Michael would creep down to the corner of the basement where he kept his pencils and pad and would immerse himself there for a few hours in drawing out the dips and contours that he’d memorised by heart at this point, doing his best to do them justice as he traced out the images of the men he loved, the end result always falling frustratingly fucking short.

Of course anything that happened in a home shared with Gavin David Free didn’t stay secret for long… The Brit had ended up stumbling upon his sketches during a search for one of his old slow mo cameras that he’d needed for a video with Dan, bounding into the living room where he and Ray had been playing Halo moments later with a huge grin on his face as he’d handed off the sketchbook to Ray, before he’d moving off to go and track down the others… and Michael had been ready to grab the book back from Ray, to hide it somewhere where certain British dumbasses  _wouldn’t_ fucking inadvertently stumble across it this time but… something in Gavin’s smile had stopped him.

Because the man had seemed genuinely happy about something he’d seen within those sketches and… based on the other men’s fond expressions as they’d poured over his book, the Brit wasn’t exactly alone in those sentiments. In the end, they’d even actually insisted upon framing one of the images, a lazy sketch Michael had put together one day just shortly after they’d moved in together. It was one drawn from a memory of the six of them curled up together on the couch; Ray in Jack’s lap, Michael leaning into Geoff’s side as his feet tangled with Ryan’s and Gavin sprawled out across the lot of them. It’d been a tiny moment in their relationship, barely even significant when compared to other major milestones but… it was a moment where the redhead’s love for these men had just surged up, to the point where it was almost fucking unbearable, to the point where he’d had to put pencil to paper and capture that moment, immortalize it somehow. And perhaps the love had come through in his work because it was every single one of his boyfriends’ favorite. A few weeks later and it’d held the pride of place in the living room and while Michael still felt it was inadequate, still got kind of embarrassed when someone would notice or comment on it… it was still worth having there for the reactions of his boyfriends every time the sketch would catch their gaze. Because sure, he wouldn’t necessarily consider his art as good but… seeing his boys happy because of it? Yeah, that was pretty fucking great.


	23. All Hail The Mad King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 23: Rapid Fire Prompt: Mad King Ryan switches places with normal Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed exploring this one and have plans to extend it in the near future into a full length fic :)

It was almost pathetic how disgustingly fucking  _sentimental_  this version of himself was. He could see it in the way he made jokes with Geoff, Jack, Michael, Gavin and Ray in videos, a piece of ‘technology’ that was far from the strangest thing about this reality. Videos he could just about comprehend… This alternate version of himself, however, was a lot fucking harder to accept. Because if was obvious how soft he must’ve been, given that these versions of ‘his boys’ actually seemed to  _trust_  him, to love him in a way that wasn’t tinged with a near permanent fear of his betrayal, that he’d stab them in the back  _quite literally_  if they managed to give him an ample enough motive… To be fair, they weren’t exactly  _wrong_ about that. This version of him though? He used words like ‘I love you’ and meant them, took time to make the men around him happy, worked to please  _them_  instead of the opposite.

And his counterpart wasn’t even the one who held the power within the hunters’ dynamic. No, he’d allowed Geoff to actually maintain that position of power in this reality, allowed him to ultimately call the shots, to lead, as he obediently hung off the man’s every word like the pathetic little lapdog he obviously was, the only exception to that being when he’d occasionally find little ‘loopholes’ in the games they played but… at the end of the day he was still very much the older man’s bitch and, honestly, it made Ryan’s skin fucking  _crawl_ , to the point that he’d almost considered slicing it from him, to think that this other, weaker, version of himself had allowed them to sink this low, into this pit of sentiment, emotion and fucking subjugation…

But all of that hardly mattered now. Because as it happened the fates had conspired to have them trade their place, their circumstance. Perhaps his weaker self would have _fun_  nursing his poor broken boys back to something vaguely resembling sanity, perhaps their brokenness would break  _him_ , make him as hardened as their Ryan was. Perhaps he’d simply crumble under the pressure and  _his_  carefully trained boys would eliminate that weakness… honestly? Ryan didn’t care. Because he was honestly far more intrigued by the prospect of his own circumstances, of these new fresh faced versions of the men he knew so very intimately. Knew how to break and to mould and to shape because he’d done it once before and had done it without a single hitch in his planning, to the point that they were elevated in their warped beauty, and well and truly  _his_ in every sense of the word. And now he got to do it again, got to watch that trust fade from wide eyes as he tore away the weak, doting image of their beloved Ryan and replace him with one they’d worship… worship as their  _King_.


	24. My Boyfriend, He's Ace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 24: So many things i want to prompt you goodness - Rapid Fire prompt: Gavin's asexual and completely expects the other boys to disbelieve him, even try to convince him he's wrong, but he finds nothing but love and support

It wasn’t something that Gavin found easy to admit to people, not after one too many bad experiences with former girlfriends where they just hadn’t  _got_ it, one too many bad break ups with former boyfriends who’d branded him as a  _prude_ , one too many bad break ups with either where they’d tried to convince him that  _he_  was the problem here… it was the reason he’d struggled with the idea of settling down for so long, the reason words like ‘commitment’ had made him flee a bloody mile because… who would ever  _want_ to commit to someone like him.

Because inevitably those men and women who had come before his boys had gotten to him, at least a little. Not so much as to honestly believe that therewas something wrong, but enough to anticipate that everyone else would think so when he told them, that the men he loved would likely reject him when they found out, or try to convince him that he was wrong, just like the others had only… this time it’d be worse. Because the most he’d ever been in with the men and women who’d come before was like but… these men? He had absolutely no doubt about being halfway to hopelessly in bloody love.

And so when the words, “I’m asexual,” had left the Brit’s lips, he’d kind of been anticipating the worst… which was why he’d ended up gaping in shock moments later when Geoff was making claims that he’d ‘called it’ and Jack’s hand was in his, comforting and warm and none of the other men seemed that shocked or upset and… suddenly he was grinning like an idiot as they began to ask him what he  _was_ comfortable with, just so they wouldn’t inadvertently cross any barriers. Grinning because they actually bloody  _cared_ what those barriers were, cared like no one else had and wanted to be with him regardless. It was then that Gavin had realized that the ‘halfway’ no longer applied to his feelings about these men, not even bloody close to that.


	25. Your Touch, Not Quite As Light As A Feather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 25: R-R-R-RAPIDFIRE! Prompt: Hybrid!AU, Geoff helps Gavin preen his wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Hybrid!AU, also set within the Ruffled Feathers verse :)

Gavin usually went to Jack when he needed to be groomed. The gent just seemed to have a way with his hands that made the whole experience relaxing, comforting even… and as much as the others had initially tried, far more so than any of his other boyfriends had ever managed in their attempts. He guessed it was just the almost insane amount of patience the man possessed, something he often joked he’d gained from years of putting up with them, that’d made him so bloody great at it. And so naturally, in a situation like this, where the position of his feathers had become irritating to the point that it almost became bloody  _painful_ , he’d have usually sought the man out when he needed to be groomed except… Jack was away, visiting family, and would be gone for a good few days now. And since Gavin Free was nothing if not impatient with these things, it’d meant that he  _had_  to seek out a viable alternative as soon as bloody possible.

Ultimately, he’d decided to turn to Geoff for this, knowing that the man was far more susceptible to his ‘puppy dog eyes’ of doom, eyes that he’d honed to perfection under Lindsay’s tutelage over the last year or so, and that actually were a pretty effective tool in persuading any of his boyfriends to do something for him. Geoff was still  _easily_ the most susceptible though, plus he had a larger patience span than either Ray or Michael possessed for these things. And perhaps he’d have considered Ryan as a viable alternative too had the man not been busy trying to set up a server for a Let’s Play they were meant to be recording tomorrow… and given their history with those in the new office so far, Gavin knew the man needed all the time he could get to focus on that task.

And so, in the end, Geoff had been an easy enough choice to make and, as expected, the ram hybrid had been more than happy to give the preening his best attempt, allowing Gavin to settle back into a chair in front of him as he got to work on smoothing out the knots and kinks that his wings had managed to amass since their last grooming… and at first? Gavin had missed the careful, tentative gentleness of Jack’s hands as Geoff had forcibly ‘eased’ a few of his feathers back into their usual patterns but… something in the grimace that must’ve been pretty visible on the Brit’s face by this point seemed to clue the man in because, after that, his approach became softer, more affectionate, the the point that Gavin was pretty sure he’d actually been pouting when Geoff had claimed he was ‘done’. Perhaps, from then on out, grooming duties would have to be equally split between Geoff and Jack… he doubted either gent would mind.


	26. Pretty Pretty Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 26: omg your fics are so amazing i assumed you had like several thousand followers. PROMPT: the guys play Pretty Pretty Princess!

It was actually fucking hilarious how competitive Ryan and Geoff had gotten over this game. Apparently both of them had young second cousins or nieces, they’d had time, they’d  _trained_ for this… and both of them seemed utterly determined to utilize that ‘training’ to their advantage as a segment of Jack’s new ‘extra life’ stream found the six ‘original’ hunters, gathered around on the carpet in front of the cameras, playing ‘Pretty Pretty Princess’.

To be honest, Michael still wasn’t sure how they’d even gotten hold of the board game, let alone who’d decided on them playing it being one of the rewards but… Hey, it was for a good cause, and would make Jack happy if they managed to raise as much money as last time so… Michael really wasn’t about to be that asshole that kicked up a fuss over nothing. Besides, it was kind of entertaining to watch both Ryan and Geoff pout at him for several turns because  _he_ had the crown and apparently that was important somehow? Yeah, he really didn’t understand the rules of this fucking game. All he knew was that his two oldest boyfriends were way too invested in its outcome and.. well, that and he happened to be able to fucking  _rock_  the tiara he was currently wearing.

As the game had continued on though, Ray had won it from him, and then Jack, and then finally Ryan, much to Geoff’s obvious frustration. Especially when, moments later, the man had been forced to collect some sort of black ring which, based on the smug look in Ryan’s eyes in response, probably meant the game was his for the taking now… and then Gavin had won the crown and something about the accessories the Brit had collected over the course of the game meant that this time the crown was the deciding factor, that the Brit had inadvertently won… and if anyone could inadvertently win a game, of  _course_ it’d be Gavin. And Michael had fucking lost it moments later as Geoff and Ryan had jokingly tackled the man to the ground, bringing an end to one of the most fucking surreal games of  _anything_ he’d ever played in his goddamn life… But hey, it was for the troops right?


	27. In The Jungle, The Mighty Jungle...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 27: May I suggest a RrRrAaApPpPiIiIdDdD fire prompt? Promt: Hybrid AU where Jack is a lion and the guys can't help but crack Lion King jokes at him. (The guys are also hybrids)

It’d all started when one of his boys had set his alarm to the open strains of the circle of life, Jack being jolted awake moments later as the strains of ‘Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaants ingonymaaaaaaaaaaaa…’ blared out through his alarm clocks speakers. It hadn’t taken long to figure out who the culprit was, the bird hybrid in question giving himself away as he’d laughed so hard he almost fell off the side of the bed where he’d been perched before, clearly having eagerly been awaiting Jack’s reaction to it. And he hadn’t quite been able to resist the urge to ‘pounce’ upon the Brit moments later, Gavin’s undignified squawk waking the rest of their boyfriends just as the english part of the song had kicked in, their boyfriends’ amused laughter mostly blocking out the lyrics about life being a circle and some other profound stuff that it was definitely far too fucking early to think about right now.

He’d assumed that the ‘Lion King’ joke would be a one off, that Gavin’s alarm switch over would be enough to exhaust any possible future teasing on the subject but… clearly he’d underestimated what assholes his boyfriends could be sometimes. Because the that evening he’d had Geoff and Michael either side of him, both wearing shit-eating grins as they’d broken into a rendition of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ that’d had Jack tiredly rolling his eyes at both of them, especially when Ryan had chimed in with the ‘awimaways’. He’d just been grateful that Ray and Gavin had both been too busy laughing at the other’s antics to actually join in with them and, eventually, he’d managed to drift off, even with Ryan’s backing still ringing in his ears.

And the next day at work? He’d been subjected to all kinds of jokes and teasing in relation to those damn films, by Ray especially who must’ve thought he’d been slacking in the teasing Jack department given the seemingly endless barrage of references the younger man seemed to have up his sleeves. The worst one, without a doubt, had been during their recording of the ‘King Gavin’ Let’s Play where Ray had claimed that he ‘just couldn’t wait to be King’, cue a two minute long sing along that’d had Jack narrowly resisting the urge to faceplant his own desk. There’d been a bemused smile on his lips though as they’d continued to record the video and, beyond jokingly being ‘annoyed’ by their near constant puns, the lion hybrid really hadn’t minded the teasing all that much. Because in its own way, that teasing was just another way of showing that they accepted Jack as what he was, accepted him and didn’t fear him like so many had when he’d forced to attend a non-hybrid based school with far from accepting classmates. It was nice to have that reminder sometimes that things were different now and that his boyfriends, assholes though they may be, loved him just as he was.


	28. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 28: Rapid fire ahot6 prompt: They all go on a date night on Jack's boat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's set in a GTA AU verse! :)

The fact that Jack just happened to have a spare bloody boat for date night didn’t even surprise Gavin anymore. He’d been running with the hunters long enough by this point to realize that Jack always had at least one of bloody  _everything_ on hand if ever they even  _thought_  about needing it. Getaway cars, jet skis, that one police helicopter that apparently he’d apparently acquired through calling in some favors with ‘old friends’… the man pretty much had every resource in this entire bloody city wrapped around his little finger. There was a reason, after all, that Geoff credited him as the linchpin that held their operation together.

But tonight wasn’t about that and the fact that Ryan, for once, had left that bloody mask of his at home spoke volumes about that. Tonight was about them and the date night that’d been long overdue since they’d actually started this relationship of theirs. Because being the city’s most wanted citizens didn’t exactly leave them a lot of time to relax, catch a movie, grab dinner… not in the way that other other people in relationships did anyway. But Gavin had never particularly considered them as like those ‘other people’ anyway. Other people were boring, sticking to a rulebook that was practically impossible to follow to the letter anyway, meanwhile Geoff’s crew got their pick of anything they wanted because they weren’t afraid to bend, or find the loopholes within, the rules in that dusty old book.

Somehow though, Jack had found them a secluded spot, one where the rest of the world wouldn’t find them, and there they’d jetted out to sea, watching as the stars climbed up into the sky, casting an eerie sort of glow over the waters as they’d settled down to have the meal Geoff had cooked them. And there they’d sat for several hours, Gavin burrowed under Michael’s right arm as the man talked animatedly about something that, for once, had nothing to do with their ‘profession’, the rest of the men sat in similar positions with one another, a rare, easy, relaxed smile curling each of their lips as they contributed their own comments to the conversation. For once even Ray seemed relaxed, his rifle resting by his feet, almost forgotten in the tranquil safety of the setting. Yeah, a night like this had definitely been long overdue but, as it turned out, it’d been more than bloody worth the wait.


	29. I'm Not Easy, So Ease Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 29: Pew pew pew! Rapid fire time! Ray hanging out with the guys and some stranger is just getting too grabby with him. Insert protective boyfriends!

It’d almost been flattering at first. When the bartender, who Ray had been ordering drinks from, had made a comment about how he was surprised an attractive man like him wasn’t on a  _date_  instead of being here with his ‘friends’… Because of course he couldn’t have known that the friends were actually his boyfriend of five months now, it wasn’t exactly the obvious connection to make for most people and Ray was more than used to having to explain the dynamics of their relationship to people by this point. And he’d assumed that, once he had, the man serving him would realize his mistake and back off… He hadn’t counted on the sudden enthusiasm that’d seemed to spark to life within the man’s eyes, nor that slow smirk that’d crept across his lips, a smirk that Ray had seen more than enough times to know  _exactly_ what was going through this man’s head right now;  _easy_.

Which, of course, couldn’t be more fucking wrong. Being polygamous didn’t necessarily mean he put out any more than other people did, nor that he was anything even remotely fucking close to promiscuous or unfaithful when it came to people other than his boys but… clearly no one had given this asshole the memo on that because suddenly his fingertips kept catching Ray’s hand as he set down the drinks on the bar in front of him, quite obviously deliberately taking his damn time preparing them just so that Ray would have the excuse to linger in front of the bar that little bit longer… and Ray had simply had to grit his teeth and bear it, pulling his hands out of the other man’s reach at the very least, and reminding himself that the bartender couldn’t make these drinks forever, that he’d be back with his boyfriends soon…

And sooner than expected apparently since, moments later, there was an arm around his waist which, one quick glance to his left, confirmed was Gavin’s. And the Brit was quite obviously fuming given the daggers he shot across the bar at the asshole barkeep on the other side of it, his sentiments quite obviously shared by his other boyfriends given the way both Ryan and Geoff were quick to fall into a pattern of poorly disguised threats towards the man to, essentially, back the fuck off… And if that hadn’t made their stance of things abundantly fucking clear, Jack’s comment that the man should do just that would probably have been enough to clarify it. Of course, the man hadn’t known when to quit and had made one last bid to ‘win him over’, a bid that’d included the words ‘obviously a fucking slut for it’ and had ended with Michael’s fist in his face. They never had gotten the chance to have their drinks after that, given the fact that they’d been kicked out of the bar moments later for ‘causing a scene’. Ray hadn’t really cared though because really, his drink had just been tap water and leaving the bar early meant that he got to spend that much more time with his boyfriends and away from the fucker who apparently hadn’t known the meaning of the word ‘no’.


	30. Gavvy Want A Cracker?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 30: Are you still doing rapid fire prompts? If so here is an ahot6, hybrid au, prompt: Gavin loves eating bread crumbs, cracks, and croutons as a snack and he gets mildly annoyed whenever Jack or Michael steal some to put tuna and stuff on but begrudgingly allows them too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Hybrid AU ficlet! :)

Everyone who knew Gavin, knew that he had certain loves in his life; red vs blue, slow mo, his boyfriends and, on a more trivial scale, crackers, croutons and bread crumbs. The later was something the Brit had always put down to his nature as a bird hybrid… Well, that and the fact that Dan had jokingly offered them to him enough times as kids that he’d developed a taste for them. He liked croutons the best, not messy like bread crumbs or crackers so they’d wind up all over his shirt, conveniently sized so he could keep a pot of them stacked on the side of his desk at work. In fact, you’d rarely see a day go by without the Brit indulging in some sort of bread related product…

Which was why a lot of people around the office, and in particular his boys, had always found it so bewildering that he’d react to the wet form of those substances so negatively. They just didn’t get that half of the reason Gavin liked these things was the dry, crunchy nature of them. It was the reason he favored croutons the most, with crackers coming in close second, because the consistency of those was  _just right_. Wet bread was soggy and sloppy and reminded the Brit a little too much of how it’d tasted as a kid that one time he’d devoured four consecutive bags of croutons, only to  _immediately_ regret that decision as he’d emptied his stomach into a nearby toilet. It hadn’t been enough to put him off the croutons themselves, not when they still tasted so bloody top, but it’d been more than enough to give him serious issues with wet bread for the rest of his adult life.

The only real issue the Brit had with ordinary bread products was a certain pair of his boyfriend’s tendency to ‘borrow’ them for their tuna or other fish that just bloody ruined the whole point of the crunchy, yeasty taste of the original crackers or croutons… Yeah, the Brit was pretty sure he’d never bloody understand cat or cat related hybrids. He let it slide though because of the happy smiles they’d give him when he did, knowing how fond Gavin happened to be of his pretty huge, and mostly hidden away, bread stash. And often he’d find a new pack of croutons on his desk the next day after one of them borrowed something from him so yeah, he guessed sharing wasn’t really all that bad.


	31. Achievement Unlock Already!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 31: Rapid fire! Some R and R centric fluff please?

Ray was rapidly losing his fucking mind trying to get this achievement. He’d been at it for what felt like  _hours_ now, lining his character up in a certain way that he knew would give him the best chances at it and taking a moment to ‘mentally prepare’ himself for the challenge, eyes sharp and fingers poised over his controller. Only then would he charge into the scenario, hands steady and a grim determination burning his his gut, ready for battle (because that’s what it damn well felt like at this point). And every goddamn time he’d fuck it up in the same place, at the same time, because of the same fucking npc. After a few hours, the game, the npc, and the fucking achievement had more than started to chip away at his patience, to the point where he was actually pretty sure if he didn’t take a break soon, his xbox would be leaving this world the same way that Michael’s had in that one infamous ragequit…

And so it’d been a relief when Ryan had taken a seat next to him on the couch, the warmth radiating over from the man already working wonders in allowed the younger man to relax a little in his presence. He’d shifted a little closer to the man after a while, so that their fingers would brush on occasion when he happened to veer his controller in a certain direction, that contact helping him even further in keeping a level head. All the same though, after a few more fuck ups, the frustration was beginning to creep back in and, clearly, Ryan must’ve noticed it because moments later had found his boyfriend easing the controller from his grasp, tugging him into a hug moments later that the younger man couldn’t help but melt into in seconds. They’d sat like that for a good few moments, Ray clinging to the older man like a lifeline as some of the aggravated tension he’d build up finally began to work its way out of his system.

The man had dragged him away from the xbox, the game and that one damn achievement shortly after that, cooking him up some pancakes since the man couldn’t really cook much else and Geoff and the others wouldn’t be back until later… Ray hadn’t minded all that much though. Fact was, Ryan’s pancakes were actually pretty great and it was nice enough anyway just to take a break from that goddamn game and spend time alone with the other man because, as nice as it was to be in a relationship with five other men, it did kind of cut down on the moments they’d get alone with each other like this. Times where it was just the R’s that were connected… They’d wound up taking their pancakes to the couch, Ryan putting on some crappy movie, that they both secretly pretended not to love around their other boyfriends, and the two had curled up there together for a few hours, just soaking in the movie and each other’s company… and Ray hadn’t thought about that goddamned achievement once in those moments they’d spent together because right now he had pancakes, Ryan and a crappy movie to watch. Everything else, as far as he was concerned, could be put on hold for now.


	32. The One In The Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 32: Rapid-fire prompt?? Michael is Edgar's favourite human. (Yeah, I don't know either. :p)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word of warning, he's the one in the hole for a reason ;)

It almost  _endearing_ really. Ever since he’d been imprisoned in this hole, the redheaded warrior who travelled with the hunters, ‘Michael’ or ‘Mogar’ as far as he could tell, had seemed to become obsessed with the idea of freeing him. In fact, it’d almost seemed surreal  _just_ how passionate the man seemed to be about this cow’s rights, about Edgar’s rights… and it was amusing really to consider how this warrior honestly mistook them for being one and the same. Because to these hunters, or the majority of them anyway (he knew that the kilted one within their number, the one who’d imprisoned him in the first place, had a fair few suspicions there), Edgar was a cow.

It was a pretty little misconception really, and certainly one he wasn’t about to correct considering it gave him a far greater chance of future release if they all did, essentially, believe he was this utterly harmless, defenceless creature. Of course he  _knew_ Ryan better but Ryan was ‘the mad king’ wasn’t he? He was ‘fucking insane’ as the redheaded warrior so often was inclined to remind his companions these days, no more aware than they were that it’d been Edgar who’d sowed those seeds of doubt about the man’s sanity. Because Ryan was, in essence, perfectly sane. He was just a convenient scapegoat for the real madness that lingered behind the door of kung fu house, and his ‘insanity’ an equally convenient excuse for other hunters to disregard his warnings until it was too late.

Because Edgar had never been a cow, simply a parasite within one… Parasite was such an ugly, dirty word though he found. So many negative connotations attached to it… Edgar had always rather preferred the term ‘roommate’ or ‘warped conscience’. Because, in his own way, that’s all ever really could be, a voice in the back of someone’s head, keeping them company, swaying them towards certain courses of action. It was the way he’d worked for centuries now. Find a sympathetic host, gradually coax them closer to him and then take hold. And he’d been making do with this cow for  _far_ too long now. The good news was he could tell his favored host was close to breaking, to freeing Edgar in more than one sense of the word. And once he had? Well then the fun would  _really_ begin… and wouldn’t they all regret dismissing their kilted companion as mad when their heads began to roll.


	33. That Boy Is Ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 33: i would love to read more possessive gavin if you want to write three more paragraphs for the rapid fire fan fic. or keep this till after and write as much as you want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This acts as an alternate perspective of fic 29 :)

If the man in the ridiculous looking tank top behind the bar didn’t stop flirting with Ray soon, Gavin was pretty bloody sure he’d end up removing that hand that kept finding it’s way to his boyfriends, lingering a little too long each time he laid out the drinks they’d ordered and that Ray had gone to fetch, despite the fact that he’d only wanted a tap water and… really, one of them should’ve gone up with him, should’ve been there to fend off this guy’s advances, but they’d all been happy to let Ray do the work for them and now Gavin was stuck in this booth, glaring daggers across the bar at the asshole who kept batting his eyelids at  _their_  boyfriend.

And when the bartender had actually leant across the bar a little to tell his boyfriend something, hands  _still_  bloody lingering way too close to Ray, even as he’d removed his hands from the man’s grasp, clearly having long since grown tired of the man’s come ons, Gavin had seen bloody red. He’d been across the bar in seconds, his arm wrapping firmly around his boyfriend’s’ waist as he’d glared daggers at the sunglasses indoors level douchebag who’d been chatting up a taken man. And what made Gavin bloody fume even more was the obviously lack of surprise when Gavin had approached, like he’d bloody  _known_  Ray was taken but had still chosen to keep flirting with him anyway.

It’d been his remarks about Ray being ‘desperate’ and ‘easy’ though that’d really minged him off, to the point where it Michael hadn’t gotten in their first with a right hook that, by the sounds of it, had managed to break the man’s nose, Gavin would’ve probably bloody launched himself at him from across the bar because  _nobody_  talked about his bloody perfect boyfriends like that and got away with it, not if Gavin could help it. They’d been kicked out of the bar shortly after that, but the Brit still feel like they’d ultimately won the confrontation. Because tank top asshole could have his fancy bar, with the dodgy music taste and the far too grabby for Gavin’s liking bartenders… because Gavin had Ray and he knew, with a smug certainty, that he was the one thing men like him would never have.


	34. Safe In My Arms, You're Only Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapid Fire Fic 34: GO!!! Geoff having nightmares about his boys being hurt or killed, but every time he wakes up, he's reassured they're still there. (snuggles!)

It wasn’t often that he had these dreams. Usually he was so damn tired when he’d get in from another long day at the office that, by the time he actually fell into bed with his boyfriends, he didn’t damn well dream at all, skipping over the process entirely in favor of a deeper, more refreshing, sleep. And often, when he did dream, it was just the usual, incoherent jumble of shit that most people got, blurred colors, faced you half recognized, most of it forgotten by the time you woke from it in the morning… Occasionally though, he’d fall into that one damn repeated nightmare, the same one he always liked to trick himself into believing he wouldn’t have again.

It always started innocently enough, an ordinary day in the apartment he now shared with his five boyfriends, everything safe and warm and perhaps a little blurry but… it was nice. And then suddenly the tone of the dream would change, the colors would turn darker, more menacing, in the way they never actually would in reality but… when you were dreaming, it was hard to remember that fact. He’d suddenly feel as if someone were watching them, looking in one their little moment of happiness and then… gunshots would tear through the room, the harsh realities of a past life colliding with the warm comfort of his current one and causing utter chaos. He’d get flashes of images. Gavin collapsed over the couch bleeding, Ryan attempting to shield Ray with his body and failing as they were both riddled with bullet, Michael boldly trying to take on the shapeless attacker and being cut down where he stood… Jack was usually the last to fall and he’d always, always die in Geoff’s arms…

He’d wake up shaking, sometimes screaming, as he was jolted back to reality. And suddenly his and Jack’s roles would reverse as the gent would be the first to pull Geoff into his arms, murmuring soothing, calming words into the man’s hair. Ryan was usually the next to shift over to join them, tracing gentle patterns along Geoff’s back to help him relax. Then the lads would gradually stir. Ray first, taking one of Geoff’s hands in his own, his redheaded boyfriend’s hand finding his other moments later… and Gavin would always be the last up, since Geoff was pretty sure the Brit could probably sleep through an entire goddamn apocalypse if he tried hard enough, the man blearily taking in the situation his boyfriends were in. And the moment he’d realize what’d happened, what Geoff had been dreaming about, he’d burrow his way past the rest of the men, pulling Geoff into a warm solid hug and pressing one firm kiss to the man’s forehead. It was a practise the pair of them had fallen into long before they’d lived with the others, long before a tentative two had become six, and to this day it was the only thing that could truly calm him after he’d had one of these dreams. Because it was only after Gavin was in his arms that he truly knew that all of them were safe, that he was safe and that fate was still conspiring to protect him from the very worst of his nightmares.


End file.
